Hungarian Prime Minister Nominates Chess Champion Judit Polgar for the Presidency

Prime Minister Peter Magyar said on Sunday that he would ask Judit Polgar, one of the world’s most prominent chess players, to take on the role of Hungary’s next president, a largely ceremonial post.

Magyar added in a Facebook post that Polgar, 49, could represent national unity, and that he would meet with her on Monday to ask whether she would accept the nomination.

The move comes a day after President Tamás Sulyok signed a constitutional amendment approved by Magyar’s ruling Fidesz party, which ends his term as head of state.

This legislation is part of Magyar’s campaign to dismantle centers of power established during the tenure of former Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a mission Magyar says he received a strong mandate from voters to pursue after ousting the right-wing leader in the April elections, which he won by a landslide.